GIAHS will try to be consistent in its approach which distinguishes five assets of rural systems, defined as follows:
Natural capital: nature’s goods and services (waste assimilation, pollination, storm protection, water supply, wildlife)
Human capital: skills, knowledge, capability to work, and health. At the level of the production unit it is the work available in a quantity and of a quality that mainly depends on health.
Social capital: vertical (benefactor/beneficiary) and/or horizontal (between people sharing the same interests) networks that increase people’s capacity for working together and can facilitate access to larger institutions (in particular political institutions). Social capital also includes relationships of trust which can reduce transaction costs and serve as a basis for informal credit and/or solidarity networks. Solid groups from civil society can help influence political decision-makers and guarantee that their interests will be taken into account in legislation;
Physical capital: infrastructure i.e. changes made to the physical environment to enable people to satisfy their basic needs and to be more productive (mainly tools). Infrastructure includes roads, markets, housing and work buildings, water supplies and sanitary systems, and equipment for accessing information;
Financial capital: financial resources that people use such as savings and regular money income.
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